Creative work drowns in assets. How often do you actually know where anything lives? Icons, illustrations, photos, mockups, mood boards, inspiration screenshots. They are scattered across Dropbox, Google Drive, local folders, and browser bookmarks.
When you need that perfect reference image or that icon you used last month, you waste 20 minutes searching. What else could you have designed in those 20 minutes instead? That is pure productivity loss.
This guide shows how to manage design assets, inspiration boards, and component libraries to speed up creative work, not slow it down. Where should you start? With understanding why design asset management matters.
Why Design Asset Management Matters
Let's quantify the problem. How much time does your team waste finding assets?
Typical designer's asset chaos:
- Icons: Some in Figma, some in local "icons" folder, some downloaded from various sites
- Photos: Stock photos from 3 different services, custom photos in Google Photos
- Mockups: Half in Figma, half in local "Templates" folder
- Inspiration: Screenshots in Desktop folder, bookmarks in browser, pins on Pinterest
- Old designs: Scattered across Figma files with no organization
Time wasted per week:
- Searching for assets: 2-3 hours
- Re-downloading assets you had before: 30 min
- Recreating assets you can't find: 1-2 hours
- Total: 4-5.5 hours/week per designer
At $75/hour, that is $300-400/week in wasted time per designer. For a 3-person design team: $1,200-1,600/month.
Good asset management eliminates this waste. Here is how.
Centralized Asset Libraries: One Source of Truth
First principle: one place for all assets. Not five places. So what does that actually look like in practice?
What to centralize:
Icons: All icons in one Figma library or icon management tool
Illustrations: All illustrations in one folder/library
Photos: All stock and custom photos in one service
Templates: All mockups and templates in one location
Components: All design system components in one Figma library
Brand assets: Logos, colors, fonts in one brand kit
Where to centralize:
Option 1: Figma + Cloud Storage
- Figma for components, icons, illustrations
- Google Drive/Dropbox for large files (videos, PSDs)
- Notion or Confluence for documentation
Option 2: Specialized Asset Management
- Brandfolder, Bynder, or Frontify for enterprise
- Organized folder structure in Drive/Dropbox for startups
Option 3: All-in-One Design Platform
Benefits of centralization:
Faster search: One place to search, not five
No duplication: One copy of each asset, always current
Easy sharing: Link to library, not emailing files
Version control: Track changes, revert if needed
Access control: Control who can view/edit
Organizing Inspiration Boards That Actually Help
Inspiration boards are valuable if organized. Useless if chaotic. So how do you keep them useful instead of turning them into a dumping ground?
Common inspiration chaos:
- 347 screenshots in Desktop folder named "Screenshot 2024-01-15.png"
- 892 browser bookmarks in "Design" folder
- 43 Pinterest boards with overlapping content
- Random Figma files titled "Inspiration" with no structure
When you need inspiration, you can't find anything useful. Organization is key.
How to organize inspiration:
By project: Create board per project. "Onboarding redesign inspiration."
By pattern: Create board per UI pattern. "Navigation patterns," "Empty states," "Pricing pages."
By aesthetic: Create board per style. "Minimalist," "Colorful," "3D."
By industry: Create board per vertical. "Fintech apps," "Healthcare UX," "B2B dashboards."
Tools for inspiration:
Are.na: Visual research tool. Create channels (boards), add references, connect ideas.
Cosmos: Inspiration library. Save, tag, search. Built for designers.
Figma: Create pages in Figma for inspiration. Screenshot → paste into Figma → annotate.
Notion: Database of references with tags, notes, links.
Figr: Canvas system lets you collect inspiration alongside actual design work. Context preserved.
Best practices:
Tag everything: Style, color, pattern, industry. Makes search work.
Add notes: Why is this inspiring? What pattern to steal? Context matters.
Curate regularly: Delete outdated inspiration. Keep library fresh.
Share with team: Do not silo inspiration. Team benefits from shared references.
Link to usage: When you use inspiration in design, link back. Track what influences what.
Component Libraries: The Foundation of Speed
Component libraries are your design system. Done right, they 10x speed. So what keeps them from turning into a confusing wall of components?
What belongs in component library:
Primitives: Buttons, inputs, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns
Compositions: Cards, modals, navigation bars, tables
Patterns: Login forms, empty states, error pages
Layouts: Page templates, grid systems
Tokens: Colors, spacing, typography, shadows, borders
How to organize:
By category: Buttons, Forms, Navigation, Feedback, Layout
By complexity: Primitives → Components → Patterns → Templates
By platform: Web, iOS, Android (if multi-platform)
By status: Production, Beta, Deprecated
Figma library best practices:
Use components, not groups: Components update globally
Create variants: Size, state, theme variants
Document usage: Description field explains when to use
Publish regularly: Do not let local changes accumulate
Version semantically: v1.0, v1.1, v2.0. Track breaking changes
Test before publishing: Catch breaking changes early
Common mistakes:
Too many components: 500 button variants is overwhelming. Start minimal.
Not documented: No one knows when to use which component.
Out of sync with code: Design system and code library drift.
No ownership: No one maintains library. Becomes stale.
Fix: Design system team or rotation: Someone owns library health.
Figr's Memory System and Canvas for Managing Design Iterations
Most tools treat each project as isolated. What happens when the tool remembers instead of you?
Figr uses a memory system that preserves assets and context across projects.
How Figr's memory works:
Global memory: Remembers your product, design system, assets, past decisions.
Never re-explain: Do not describe your product every time. Figr remembers.
Asset reuse: Icons, components, patterns from past projects available automatically.
Context preservation: Why you made design decisions preserved. Six months later, you remember reasoning.
Canvas for iteration:
Traditional tools: Each iteration is new file. V1, V2, V3... scattered.
Figr: All iterations on one canvas. Zoom out to see evolution. Compare versions side-by-side.
Benefits:
Faster iteration: Previous versions inform next versions
Better decisions: See what was tried before, why it did not work
Knowledge retention: Team memory does not live in people's heads
Onboarding: New team members see full context, not just latest version
Example workflow:
Week 1: Design onboarding v1, collect feedback
Week 2: Iterate to v2 based on feedback. V1 still on canvas for reference
Week 3: Test v2, identify issues
Week 4: Create v3. Compare side-by-side with v1 and v2. Pick best elements from each
Result: Better v3 because you have full context, not just memory of what came before.
Time-Tracking, Collaboration, and Asset-Management Tools Combined
Design work involves multiple tools. Can you combine them to reduce context-switching?
Traditional stack:
- Design: Figma
- Time tracking: Toggl, Harvest
- Collaboration: Slack, Notion
- Asset management: Dropbox, Google Drive
- Inspiration: Pinterest, Are.na
- Project management: Jira, Linear
That is 6+ tools. Constant context-switching. Is it any surprise people spend so much time just moving between tabs?
Integrated alternatives:
Figma + FigJam: Design + whiteboarding in one tool
Notion: Docs, projects, wiki, asset database in one
Figr: Design, iteration, asset library, collaboration in one platform
Benefits of integration:
Less context-switching: Fewer tools, less time lost
Better connections: Links between assets, designs, decisions preserved
Single source of truth: One place has everything
Easier onboarding: New team members learn one tool, not six
Trade-offs:
Less specialization: All-in-one tools good at many things, great at none
Vendor lock-in: Harder to migrate if everything in one platform
Team preference: Some prefer best-of-breed tools
When to integrate: Early-stage teams, small teams, teams that value simplicity over specialization.
When to use best-of-breed: Large teams, specialized workflows, teams with established tool preferences.
Real Use Cases: Asset Management That Works
Real examples help show what "good" looks like in practice. How do different team sizes actually set this up?
Scenario 1: 2-person startup
Tools: Figma + Google Drive + Notion
Organization:
- Figma: All components and icons
- Google Drive: Stock photos and large files
- Notion: Inspiration database with tags
Time saved: 3 hours/week (searching reduced from 3h to nearly 0)
Scenario 2: 10-person design team
Tools: Figma + Frontify + Are.na
Organization:
- Figma: Design system and component library
- Frontify: Brand assets, guidelines, templates
- Are.na: Shared inspiration boards by project
Process: Design system team maintains libraries. Everyone contributes inspiration.
Time saved: 25 hours/week across team
Scenario 3: 50-person product company
Tools: Figma + Bynder + Confluence
Organization:
- Figma: Component libraries per platform
- Bynder: All brand assets, photos, illustrations (1000s of assets)
- Confluence: Documentation and guidelines
Process: Dedicated design ops team manages assets. Automated tagging and organization.
Time saved: 100+ hours/week across organization
How to Audit and Reorganize Existing Assets
If your assets are currently chaotic, here is how to fix it. How do you turn a mess into a system without stopping all ongoing work?
Week 1: Audit
List all places assets live:
- Figma files
- Local folders
- Cloud storage
- Various online services
Count assets: 500 icons? 2,000 photos? 50 component files?
Identify duplicates and outdated assets.
Week 2: Choose structure
Decide organizing principle:
- By project? By type? By date?
- Where will centralized library live?
- What tools will you use?
Week 3: Consolidate
Move assets to new structure:
- Download from scattered locations
- Upload to centralized library
- Tag and organize
- Delete duplicates and outdated items
Week 4: Document and train
Create guide: "Where assets live and how to use library"
Train team on new system
Set rules: "All new assets go in library, not local folders"
Week 5+: Maintain
Assign owner to maintain library
Monthly audit: Remove unused, add new, update organization
Enforce discipline: No reverting to old chaos
Common Asset Management Pitfalls
If asset management feels painful, it is usually because of a few recurring mistakes. Can you spot any of these in your current setup?
Pitfall 1: Over-organization
Creating 50 subcategories is overwhelming. Do you really need that many? Keep it simple: 5-10 main categories.
Pitfall 2: No enforcement
Creating library but not requiring use. Team reverts to old habits.
Fix: Make library the path of least resistance. Easier to use library than not.
Pitfall 3: No maintenance
Library gets outdated. No one removes deprecated assets.
Fix: Quarterly cleanup. Someone owns library health.
Pitfall 4: Siloed assets
Designers hoard assets locally. Library incomplete.
Fix: "If it is not in library, it does not exist" rule. Share everything.
Pitfall 5: Tool sprawl
Using 10 different tools for asset management. Complexity defeats purpose.
Fix: Consolidate. Fewer tools, better organization.
How to Measure Asset Management Success
Track these metrics before/after reorganization. How else will you know if the new system is actually working?
Time to find asset: "How long to find icon you used last month?"
Before: 15 minutes. After: 30 seconds.
Duplicate assets: How many copies of same asset exist?
Before: 5 copies. After: 1 copy.
Team satisfaction: Survey: "Asset organization is good" (1-10)
Before: 3/10. After: 8/10.
Onboarding time: How long for new designer to find assets?
Before: 2 hours of exploration. After: 10-minute tour of library.
If metrics do not improve, diagnose why:
- Is structure wrong for team workflow?
- Are people not using library? (Enforcement issue)
- Is tool too complex? (Simplify)
Figr's Approach: Assets + Context in One Canvas
Most tools separate assets from context. You have icon library. But you do not remember which project used which icons or why. What if the same place showed you both the asset and its real usage?
Figr preserves connection between assets and usage:
Memory system: Remembers assets you have used
Canvas: Shows assets in context of designs that use them
Connections: See which designs share assets
Reasoning: Why you chose this asset for this use case
Example: You created custom illustration for feature X. Six months later, working on feature Y. Figr shows: "You have similar illustration from feature X. Reuse or create new?"
Context preserved. Speed increased. Consistency maintained.
The Bigger Picture: Asset Management as Design Operations
Design at scale requires operations discipline. Asset management is design ops. Where does your team sit on that maturity curve today?
Small teams (2-5): Informal organization works.
Medium teams (10-30): Need structure and tools.
Large teams (30+): Need dedicated design ops role.
Best teams treat asset management as infrastructure, not afterthought. They invest in tools, processes, and enforcement.
Result: Creative work speeds up. Designers spend time designing, not searching.
Takeaway
Managing design assets, inspiration boards, and libraries speeds up creative work by eliminating time wasted searching. Centralize assets in one location. Organize inspiration with tags and notes. Maintain component libraries with documentation. Use integrated tools to reduce context-switching.
For small teams, Figma + Google Drive + Notion works. For large teams, specialized asset management (Frontify, Bynder) plus Figma. Or use integrated platforms like Figr that combine assets, iteration, and context in one canvas with memory system that preserves connections.
Good asset management is not about fancy tools. It is about discipline: one place for assets, consistent organization, regular maintenance, team enforcement. Get this right, and creative work accelerates.